Sindhu survives scare to reach next round at French Open Super 750

P.V. Sindhu survived a scare to advance at the French Open Super 750 in Paris on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, prevailing after one hour and four minutes. She beat Thailand's world No. 26 Supanida Katethong to seal her place in the next round.

Sindhu, India's double Olympic medallist, former world champion and world No. 1, recovered to win 21-14, 8-21, 23-21 in a match that swung in momentum; she took the opening game, Katethong dominated the second, and the decider was tightly contested before Sindhu edged through.

Reflecting on the hard-fought victory, Sindhu said, "Some matches you just have to find a way to win. Today was one of those." She added, "Credit to Supanida, she made me fight for every point. I felt like I was trying to impose my game throughout, but somehow things kept slipping away. Will go through the footage and see what needs to change."

Sindhu also described a late, close challenge and the narrow margin that decided the match: "Even that challenge at 21-20, the shuttle clipping the line by a hair's breadth! Some days God really makes you fight for it," she said. She added, "I needed this win. End of story. Not the prettiest, plenty to reflect on, but happy to be through."

Other Indian results at the event included Unnati Hooda losing 18-21, 21-12, 17-21 to Japan's Riko Gunji in women's singles. Ayush Shetty came from a game down to beat Kidambi Srikanth 19-21, 21-16, 21-12 in under an hour in men's singles. Lakshya Sen gave a walkover to world No. 9 Kodai Naraoka in the opening round; Lakshya has suffered early exits at the World Championships, the Asian Games and the recently-concluded Denmark Open.

Sindhu said she would rest and prepare immediately: "Recovery underway, another battle tomorrow. One match at a time," she added, confirming she will be back on court the following day.